Thanks. Is the floor actually sturdy enough to use it as a SUP? I have that vision that it may be nice on longer days to switch things up for a few minutes.
I ordered the Stingray hybrid (CF shaft, fiberglass reinforced blades) for $140. I figured this won’t be my last paddle ever and there is always a “better” more expensive paddle.
For the SE 370 I also have the idea to bring a canoe paddle as a spare. That way I may be able to switch positions every once a while. I know solo-canoe isn’t ideal. Is a solo canoe paddle totally inappropriate for the SE 370? i can see the wide gunwales would interfere with “canoing”. Maybe a full-drop-stitch boat like the SE Razorlite would be better for canoing. (i never was in a canoe, if it wasn’t obvious
I think I’m reasonably committed to use the SE 370 for the entire season before actually buying a new boat. but plan to use the fall/winter to be upgraded next year.
I’m also looking into buying one of the automatic 12V pumps since all boat launches seem to be close to the parking lot. This boat has 6 things to inflate inc. the seat. So my plan is to auto-inflate the 3 large air chamber of the actual boat while I manually pump the seat and the 2 skirts. I’m just not quite sure if the 20psi pumps (for future drop-stitch inflatable) are accurate enough in the 1 psi range this regular kayak gets inflated to.
The Drop Stitch floor on the 420 is 100mm and at 8 or 9 lbs it will support my 250 lbs, however it is only about half as wide as a paddle board so it might be a bit squirrely.
I have the automatic pump with the digital display and it is two stage, so it blows up the tubes to 2.5 lbs just fine on low pressure mode. The floor runs up to about 3.5 lbs then the high pressure pump kicks in. I also used the same pump on my Star Yellow Jacket, which was all low pressure including little bulkheads and the seat that came with my Sea Eagle. Make sure any you are looking at are two stage and have a digital pressure display and not a dial.
I had another 15 km (3.5 hrs) and a 21 km (4.5 hrs) trip on our lakes and the Yahara river. that probably is my limit to be able to sit on the seats. I stopped twice to re-inflate the seat, which helped. but a future boat needs better seats. I’m still a bit tippy / not confident too change position too much to use the canoe paddle to switch things. Admittedly, even on my nice office chair I couldn’t sit that long (and I have a standing desk!). I also got some blisters despite using gloves. So I still need to work on being able to paddle longer. since setup and packing up is relatively involved, I’d prefer longer paddle trips over shorter ones.
Overall the boat is still good. Most stability problem are the motor boat wakes. and no, not everyone of them is mindful of small water-craft. That makes me think the Sea Eagle 493 may not be my best next boat since it would be narrower. The boat also weather-cocks, which seems expected.
The Aquabound Hybrid paddle is great. I tried the feathering, which worked. But didn’t see a benefit and fear when turning or drawing it will get confusing. I learned going through planted areas makes me catch a lot of weed
I tend to think the little wider Saturn ocean Kayak would be perfect as the next boat (little better tracking, little faster, little more stability and room to move around). Inflatables are rare around here, it certainly is a conversation starter.
I’ll try to get to all the nearby waters to find all the good launching spots. So far the plenty motor boat launch sites seem to be the best locations.
It is the end of the season for me and I cleaned, and dried the boat to put into storage for the winter. I thought updating may be helpful for other noobs. I’m planning to upgrade to something new over winter. Using the SE 370 helped a lot to find out what to look for in a new boat:
I have used the SE 370 1-2 times a week and explored almost all public waters within an hour driving time. that includes the 4 Madison, WI lakes and the Yahara river, some of the state Parks. Only notable water missing are the WI Dells.
Longest trip was 4.5 hours and 20 km. Another trip was 3.5 hours. That really hurt my butt and I limited my trips to 2+ hours. I really want a boat I can move around and get some different positions. My arms and upper body can do longer tours. Not having a foot-rest also didn’t help with comfort.
Compared to other recreational 10’ kayaks it tracked fine and I was faster (but I also was alone, and didn’t dilly-dally)
Setting up is OK, despite the 7 things to inflate (3 chambers, 2 skirts, 2 on each seat). I got a good triple-stage pump. For a new boat I likely like a non-inflatable seat. The Pro seats are OK, but I also had to wash the textile cover.
I don’t like the valves since I need to screw them out for de-flating, and they then can come off (especially the floor one). Then for inflating they have to be screwed in again. 7 times. Also the pump sometimes slides off when the hose is twisted. I really like fewer valves, and some that stay in.
Folding down is OK-ish, but drying out the greases is a bit cumbersome and a complete drying is only realistic seasonally. Some better drying design will be good
Stability is fine. Primary stability is a bit tippy at first. I noticed the floor beams are less wide than the sidewalls. And with only me (175#) I only float on the narrower floor, which gives me less width. it is OK, and 2’ waves were not a problem, though.
The floor sinks a bit, and a future boat really should have drop-stitch floor
I finally could coax my daughter to go out with me for an hour after the first trip with her only lasted 2 minutes. She went into the water, but it was impossible for her to get back in without my help. I never went into the water and expect self-rescue may be an issue. Or at least should be practiced.
When it is windy, I have problems going where I want. Actual headwind isn’t too bad. But wind from the side sometimes drifts me off and I had to paddle one-sided for a while. A little lower boat may be good. A longer skeg also may help. I limited boating to days with less than 10 mph wind forecast (assuming the lake wind speed is higher than at the weather station at the airport). Windy days may be better for rivers.
It doesn’t have a handle in the center. When I carry the 35# boat to the water, this isn’t much of a problem to hold it by the sidewall. But when I come back the boat is wet, and it sometimes goes uphill and I have to set the boat down a few times. Sometimes I carry my paddle, seat and drybag separately. Any new boat should have some handle to carry. Weight is OK, just hard to hold onto. Few boat launches have the car parking lot a few hundred yards from the water.
My first upgrade was a 250cm Aquabound hybrid paddle. Really great
I really like the inflatable idea and it fits my life-style. Next boat will be inflatable as well with most of the above shortcomings resolved.
Overall it is a good boat for beginners, or shorter outings (2 hours or less). I hope it doesn’t sound like dissing this boat when I say, that more advanced outings and paddlers will benefit from an upgraded boat. But it got me out on the water, I learned the waters, and got interested in boating more.
Another thing I noticed is that asking other boat owners about how they like their boat gives you exactly zero new knowledge. No matter what boat they have (foldable, pool tool inflatable etc.), they all say they like it. Most likely their boat is the only boat they know. If they didn’t like it, they wouldn’t use it. If you want to know something about their boat, ask specific questions.
I met one other person with an SE 370, and some people that had upgraded (to a SE fasttrack) from an SE 370. On regular motor-boat launches an inflatable seems to be a conversation starter.
Thank you for a well-thought-out and informative post. I can’t offer any suggestions as I’m new to inflatables (paddled hard shells since 1999). A few days ago I bought a Sea Eagle 385FT for a travel boat. I travel 4 states by car for work and wanted to take a boat with me. I bought used hoping to learn what I like/don’t like without suffering a resale penalty. Haven’t paddled it yet but the drop-stitch floor seems fairly rigid.
For a new boat I’m considering (and still have time to research), the Saturn OK420, the SE Fastrack or the SE Needlenose SUP 14’ with seat added for more versatility and being able to stand to safe my “behind”.
What I like about the FT, is it has the inflatable front keel, which I assume acts like a front skeg and helps slicing through waves. that would be better than an actual front skeg (like the OK 420 has) since many of the launches i use are just beaches, and I may damage front-skegs. the people i met who have the FT (and upgraded from an SE 370) had nothing but good things to say.
I’ve previously taken my iSUP with me on the road and bought the 385FT as a replacement for that duty. My iSUP is fairly narrow and quick so it doesn’t take much to go for a swim. That’s fine in warmer weather/water but I wanted the safety buffer of the inflatable kayak. It should greatly increase my options while traveling by minimizing the likelihood of a swim, though safety precautions will still be taken.
As for stability, the NN14 is 30"wide. This is less than the SE 370 34" width. But the floor the SE 370 floats on is only maybe 26" wide. So when sitting I think the NN 14 may be better. The NN also slices through waves, so that likely helps in addition to 14’ length vs. 12.5’.
I count on getting wet anyway and the paddles make me wet. So my boating is limited to temps above 70°F-80°F regardless of boat. I see the iSUP with seat more like a SOT.
Maybe later I can add colder weather paddling. but realistically, I’m time-limited and have neglected biking and hiking due to paddling and when it is colder, can switch to on-shore activities. Outdoors is outdoors
Most likely scenario is I get the NN14 this winter and that will be better than the SE 370 in all aspects. If I then still see the need for a “real” boat, I don’t mind buying a separate boat later. At this point I want to limit boat purchases to one per year :-). But for my use case, so far it looks the NN 14 would give me the most options and makes it more likely to be used:
can do both standing and sitting - making it more comfortable when I switch mode of propulsion. the 2+ hour limit for sitting is a real joy-killer
can use for swimming and is more likely to get my daughter (and her friend) out. This is the one reason to make the decision because if it is between iSUP and my daughter, and the best boat ever, but without daughter, i chose the iSUP.
easy to clean, inflate/deflate
The only real limitation of an iSUP is that it only has one air-chamber. So when I have a leak, I need to somehow float to the shore. Our lakes (Madison, WI) aren’t big enough to make me very concerned. Most likely place to leak is a river with trees, or rocks. In the middle of a lake with 1 km to the shore, it is less likely to catastrophically leak. But it is a concern nevertheless. But they call it touring SUP, so people take them on long distances.
Have you considered as far as kayaking with The NN14 there is no foot braces.(unless I missed something.)To me foot braces are must have.Not to far away from you in Northern il next to Kenosha Wi
My plan was to build a sort of footrest that straps to the legs of the seat. There are some footrests sold. Alternatively I could add D-rings where the footrest is. That way I don’t have the long straps from the seat to the footrest.
I also could add velcro strips to the board and get one of the Velcro footrest, but fear that one can’t take that much force. I’m just not sure how warranty is impacted by adhering D-rings or Velcro.
My closest contenders, the OK 420 and the SE Fasttrack, also doesn’t have footrests. For that I would also have to adhere footrests to the sidewalls. I understand for an SUP it is hard for the manufacturer to provide a footrest, and most people wouldn’t need one. But I’m disappointed that actual IK don’t have one either.
You are totally right, this is a concern. How much of a concern I will see once I have it and also see what % will be sitting (kayak paddle) or standing (SUP paddle). But the larger platform has more options for adding footrests than my SE 370. Again, I’m disappointed manufacturers neglect this and it is already a special feature when you find an IK that properly addresses that.
Right now my SE 370 limits me to 2+ hours comfort. If this new setup allows me 4+ hours, it will be a win.
So when I look at a flat river or lake the last boat I want to be in is an inflatable. When people talk about tracking they are talking about the ability to go straight. Some boats require additional effort and technique to do that. However, I don’t think that is the biggest issue with inflatables. It simply requires more effort to paddle them on the flats. I’m assuming more drag is involved over traditional hard boats. I’m not the engineer type. I simply paddle boats and try to enjoy whatever I am in.
The newer high psi floors are an improvement but as a group of boats I consider inflatables to be sluggish. Any boat is better than no boat and if you are really sold on the portability and low price point then it may not be a bad decision to stick with an IK. Some folks like stand up paddle boards. I just see “suffering needlessly” and would say I feel the same way about IKs on the flats. Different folks like different things.
I think it is important to remember that unless you are paddling a boat to get to work or to the grocery then the whole idea of efficiency and paddling is a bit contrived. One of the great things about recreation paddle sports is you get to make it into what you want and make it fit what you want to do.
I own a tandem Saturn, 2 sevylors with high psi floors, a tomcat, and an old Riken cherokee. I boat with folks who use rocky mountain, aire, thrill seekers, and star inflatables. I prefer to use my “ducks” on short trips with current. I realize some inflatables are more specialized for flatwater like the razorlite (sea eagle) and I do not own them. I’ll reserve judgement on the 370 until I’ve actually paddled one but it is not on my list to buy for ww or the flats.
Whatever you get next, , just realize that most of us have a lot of boats and find some better for certain environments. Do avoid getting blown around on a big open body of water. Keep the distances short and keep going out having fun.
I upgraded to an Aquaglide Chelan 120 this year. I absolutely love it! Looking to get another inflatable, I would choose another one but would like to get another brand to see the difference. I am looking at the Kokopeli, Razerlite, Star Paragon & a few others.
